Effects of estradiol on uterine ribonucleic acid metabolism. Assessment of transfer ribonucleic acid methylation.

Immature rats treated with estradiol for selected periods of time demonstrated both increased methylation of uterine transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) and methylase activities. Whereas the former parameter was assessed by incubating whole uteri with [methyl-14C]methionine and measuring the incorporation of isotope into the tRNA, methylase activity was obtained by measuring the rate of incorporation of methyl groups from S-adenosyl[methyl-14C]methionine into heterologous tRNA (Escherichia coli B) in the presence of uterine cytosol preparations (100,000g supernatants). Although increased methylation of tRNA during the estrogen response was demonstrated, additional studies indicated that these results were largely attributable to an increased rate of synthesis of tRNA rather than gross changes in either the type or amount of methylated constituents present. Evidence in this regard included the inability of estrogen treatment of alter significantly the (a) resulting patterns of methyl-14C-methylated constituents of uterine tRNA, (b) the extent ot which [2-14C]guanine residues, incorporated into tRNA, become methylated, (c) the extent of methylation of precursor tRNA in the absence of tRNA synthesis, and (d) the types of methylase activities expressed in vitro.     

The developmental pattern of homologous and heterologous tRNA methylation in rat brain differential effect of spermidine

UsingS-adenosyl-L-[Me-¹⁴C] methionine, rat cerebral cortex methyltransferase activity was determined during the early postnatal period in the absence of addedEscherichia coli tRNA and in its presence. [Me-¹⁴C] tRNA was purified from both systems and its [Me-¹⁴C] base composition determined. The endogenous formation of [Me-¹⁴C] tRNA (homologous tRNA methylation) was totally abolished in the presence of 2.5 mM spermidine, whereasE. coli B tRNA methylation (heterologous methylation) was markedly stimulated. Only [Me-¹⁴C] 1-methyl guanine and [Me-¹⁴C]N ²-methyl guanine were formed by homologous methylation, there being an inverse shift in their relative proportions with age. Heterologous tRNA methylation led, additionally, to the formation of [Me-¹⁴C]N ₂ ² -dimethyl guanine, 5-methyl cytosine, 1-methyl adenine, 5-methyl uracil, 2-methyl adenine, and 1-methyl hypoxanthine. A comparison of heterologous tRNA methylation between the whole brain cortex (containing nerve and glial cells) and bulk-isolated nerve cell bodies revealed markedly lower proportions of [Me-¹⁴C]N ₂-methyl andN ₂ ² -dimethyl guanine and significantly higher proportions of [Me-¹⁴C] 1-methyl adenine in the neurons. The present findings suggest (1) that homologous tRNA methylation may provide developing brain cells with continuously changing populations of tRNA and (2) that neurons are enriched in adenine residue-specific tRNA methyltransferases that are highly sensitive to spermidine.This research was supported by grant NS-06294 of the United States Public Health Service.     

Synthesis of methylated ethanolamine moieties: regulation by choline in soybean and carrot

The results of experiments in which intact plants of Lemna paucicostata were labeled with either l-[³H₃C]methionine, l-[¹⁴CH₃]methionine, or [1,2-¹⁴C]ethanolamine support the conclusion that growth in concentrations of choline of 3.0 micromolar or above brings about marked decreases in the rate of biosynthesis of methylated forms of ethanolamine (normally present chiefly as phosphatidylcholine, with lesser amounts of choline and phosphocholine). The in vivo locus of the block is at the committing step in the biosynthetic sequence at which phosphoethanolamine is methylated by S-adenosylmethionine to form phosphomethylethanolamine. The block is highly specific: flow of methyl groups originating in methionine continues into S-adenosylmethionine, S-methylmethionine, the methyl moieties of pectin methyl ester, and other methylated metabolites. When choline uptake is less than the total that would be synthesized by control plants, phosphoethanolamine methylation is down-regulated to balance the uptake; total plant content of choline and its derivatives remains essentially constant. At maximum down-regulation, phosphoethanolamine methylation continues at 5 to 10% of normal. A specific decrease in the total available activity of AdoMet: phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase, as well as feedback inhibition of this enzyme by phosphocholine, and prevention of accumulation of phosphoethanolamine by down-regulation of ethanolamine synthesis may each contribute to effective control of phosphoethanolamine methylation. This down-regulation may necessitate major changes in S-adenosylmethionine metabolism. Such changes are discussed.     

Studies on the biosynthesis of coenzyme F420 in methanogenic bacteria

Coenzyme F₄₂₀ is a 8-hydroxy-5-deazaflavin present in methanogenic bacteria. We have investigated whether the pyrimidine ring of the deazaflavin originates from guanine as in flavin biosynthesis, in which the pyrimidine ring of guanine is conserved. For this purpose the incorporation of [2-¹⁴C]guanine and of [8-¹⁴C]guanine into F₄₂₀ by growing cultures of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was studied. Only in the case of [2-¹⁴C]guanine did F₄₂₀ become labeled. The specific radioactivity of the deazaflavin and of guanine isolated from nucleic acids of [2-¹⁴C]guanine grown cells were identical. This finding suggests that the pyrimidine ring of the deazaflavin and of flavins are synthesized by the same pathway.F₄₂₀ did not become labeled when M. thermoautotrophicum was grown in the presence of methyl-[¹⁴C] methionine, [U-¹⁴C]phenylalanine or [U-¹⁴C]tyrosine. This excludes that C-5 of the deazaflavin is derived from the methyl group of methionine and that the benzene ring comes from phenylalanine or tyrosine.     

Incorporation of methionine into prodigiosin

Addition of proline to suspensions of nonpigmented, nonproliferating cells of Serratia marcescens induced biosynthesis of the pigment, prodigiosin. If methionine was included with proline, 4 times as much prodigiosin was formed, although the amount synthesized in the presence of methionine alone was nil. Uniformly ¹⁴C-labelled proline and methionine were incorporated into prodigiosin to about 30% the extent of their incorporation into cellular protein. Experiments with [carboxy-¹⁴C]-, and [Me-¹⁴C] methionine established that isotope from the methyl group was utilized preferentially for biosynthesis of prodigiosin.     

Escherichia coli formylmethionine tRNA: methylation of specific guanine and adenine residues catalyzed by HeLa cells tRNA methylases and the effect of these methylations on its biological properties

Purified HeLa cell tRNA methylases have been used for site-specific methylations of Escherichia coli formylmethionine transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA^fMet). Guanine-N²-methylase catalyzed the methylation of a specific guanine residue (G₂₇) and adenine-1-methylase that of a specific adenine residue (A₅₉). The combined action of both of these enzymes leads to a total incorporation of two methyl groups and results in the methylation of both G₂₇ and A₅₉.The effect of introducing additional methyl groups on the function of tRNA has been studied by a comparison in vitro of the biological properties of tRNA^fMet and enzymically methylated tRNA^fMet. It was found that none of the following properties of E. coli tRNA^fMet are altered to any significant extent by methylation: (a) rate, extent, and specificity of aminoacylation, (b) ability of methionyl-tRNA to be enzymically formylated, and (c) ability of formylmethionyl-tRNA to initiate protein synthesis in cell-free extracts of E. coli in the presence of f2 RNA as messenger. Also, the temperature versus absorbance profile of the doubly methylated tRNA^fmet was virtually identical to that of the E. coli tRNA^fMet, and enzymically methylated tRNA^fmet resembled tRNA^fMet in that both were resistant to deacylation by E. coli, N-acylaminoacyl-tRNA hydrolase.     

The Biosynthesis of Transfer Ribonucleic Acid in the Developing Rat Brain and in Cultured Glial Cells

Abstract: The biosynthesis of tRNA was investigated in cultured astroglial cells and the 3-day-old rat brain in vivo. In the culture system astrocytes were grown for 19 days and were then exposed to [³H]guanosine for 1.5–7.5 h; 3-day-old rats were injected with [³H]guanosine and were killed 5–45 min later. [³H]tRNA was extracted, partially purified, and hydrolyzed to yield [³H]-guanine and [³H]methyl guanines. The latter were separated from the former by high performance liquid chromatography and their radioactivity determined as a function of the time of exposure to [³H]guanosine. The findings indicate that labeling of astrocyte tRNA continued for 7.5 h and was maximal, relative to total RNA labeling, at 3 h, while in the immature brain tRNAs were maximally labeled at 20 min after [³H]guanosine administration. The labeling pattern of the individual methyl guanines differed considerably between astrocyte and brain tRNAs. Thus, [³H]1-methylguanine represented up to 35% of the total [³H]methyl guanine radioactivity in astrocyte [³H]tRNA, while it became only negligibly labeled in brain [³H]tRNA. Conversely, brain [³H]tRNA contained more [³H]N²-methylguanine than did astrocyte [³H]tRNA. Approximately equal proportions of [³H]7-methylguanine were found in the [³H]tRNAs of both neural systems. The [³H]methylguanine composition of brain [³H]tRNA was followed through several stages of tRNA purification, including benzoylated DEAE-cellulose and reverse phase chromatography (RPC-5), and differences were found between the [³H]methylguanine composition of RPC-5 fractions containing, respectively, tRNA^lys and tRNA^phe. The overall results of this study suggest that developing brain cells biosynthesize their particular complement of tRNAs actively and in a cell-specific manner, as attested by the significant differences in the labeling rates of their methylated guanines. The notion is advanced that cell-specific tRNA modifications may be a prerequisite for the successful synthesis of cell-specific neural proteins.     

Utilization of an Escherichia coli mutant for carbon-13 enrichment of tRNA for NMR studies.

The enrichment of tRNA at specific sites with carbon-13 has been accomplished in vivo using a mutant of Escherichia coli. A relaxed strain of E. coli auxotrophic for methionine was grown in a specifically defined medium supplemented with either [14C] or [13C]-methyl labeled methionine. Cells were collected at the end of the log-phase of growth and tRNA was extracted. Analysis of the radioactivity of the [14C]-labeled tRNA established an incorporation ratio of three labeled carbons per tRNA molecule. Incorporation of the [14C]-label in vivo was confined to the methylation of nucleotides as determined by thin layer chromatography of nucleotides resulting from a ribonuclease digestion of [14C]-labeled tRNA. The carbon-13 NMR spectrum of [13C]-enriched tRNA indicated a similar degree of incorporation into the methylated nucleotides by the substantial enhancement of [13C]-methyl NMR signals only. Assignment of signals has been made for the methyl groups of ribothymidine and N7-methylguanosine in E. coli tRNA.     

Protein synthesis in cultured muscle cells: methylation of nascent proteins

Protein methylation was examined in primary cultures of rat leg muscle cells between 7 and 9 days of culture. Methyl[¹⁴C]- or [³H]-methionine was introduced into the culture medium and the cells were sampled for radioactive methylated protein residues. Incorporation of the total radioactivity was linear for at least 4 hr after introduction of the methionine label. When labeling was studied for periods between 10–30 min, the methylation of polyribosome-bound, presumably nascent, proteins was unaffected by addition of cycloheximide to the culture medium. The antibiotic, however, inhibited incorporation of methionine, and consequently increased the ratios of the incorporated methylated, to methionine residues and the ratio of ribosome-bound to free radioactivity. The methylated, polyribosome-bound proteins were decreased when puromycin was added to the culture medium. It is proposed that selective methylation of nascent proteins, such as myosin, can begin at the level of polyribosomes and be completed in the cytosol of muscle cells cultured in vitro.     

The methylation of transfer ribonucleic acid during regeneration of the liver

Transfer ribonucleic acid¹ is methylated after the molecule is synthesized; at least eight enzymes are involved in the transfer of methyl groups (derived from methionine). The time courses of methylation and synthesis of tRNA during rat liver regeneration have been compared in an in vivo radioisotopic study, using 6-orotic acid-¹⁴C and ³H-methyl-L-methionine as precursors in double label pulses. Liver regeneration is a synchronized system in which biochemical events of the cell cycle are separable. Transfer RNA methylation increase precedes by several hours tRNA synthesis during regeneration, although the curves overlap. A ratio of the relative rate of methylation to the relative rate of synthesis has been made; that curve positively correlates with the rise and fall of protein synthesis during regeneration. It is clear that methylation and synthesis of tRNA are only weakly coupled; changing methyl content of the tRNA "pool" resulting from differential tRNA methylase and polymerase activities may regulate the rate of protein synthesis in the cell cycle at the translational level. The "pool sizes" of uridine monophosphate (UMP) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) were measured indirectly; UMP and SAM were isolated from perchloric acid supernatants and their specific activities were computed. Differential changes in radioactivity available to tRNA methylases and polymerases are not a source of artifact. That is, the control of both the synthesis and methylation of tRNA is at the enzyme level in vivo, rather than at some enzymatic step prior to those enzymatic reactions.     

Metabolic fate of guanosine in higher plants

The aim of the present study was to investigate the metabolic fate of guanine nucleotides in higher plants. The rate of uptake of [8-¹⁴C]guanosine by suspension-cultured Catharanthus roseus cells was more than 20 times higher than that of [8-¹⁴C]guanine. The rate of uptake of [8-¹⁴C]guanosine increased with the age of the culture. Pulse-chase experiments with [8-¹⁴C]guanosine revealed that some of the guanosine that had been taken up by the cells was converted to guanine nucleotides and incorporated into nucleic acids. A significant amount of [8-¹⁴C]guanosine was degraded directly to xanthine, allantoin and allantoic acid, with the generation of ¹⁴CO₂ as the final product. The rate of salvage of [8-¹⁴C]guanosine for the synthesis of nucleic acids was highest in young cells, while the rate of degradation increased with the age of the cells. In segments of roots from Vigna mungo seedlings, nearly 50% of the [8-¹⁴C]guanosine that had been absorbed over the course of 15 min was recovered in guanine nucleotides. A significant amount of the radioactivity in nucleotides became associated with nucleic acids and ureides during ‘chase’ periods. In segments of young leaves of Camellia sinensis, [8-¹⁴C]guanosine was initially incorporated into guanine nucleotides, nucleic acids, theobromine and ureides, and the radioactivity in these compounds was transferred to caffeine and CO₂ during a 24-h incubation. Our results suggest that guanosine is an intermediate in the catabolism of guanine nucleotides and that it is re-utilised for nucleotide synthesis by ‘salvage’ reactions. Guanosine was catabolised by the conventional degradation pathway via xanthine and allantoin. In some plants, guanosine is also utilised for the formation of ureide or the biosynthesis of caffeine.     

Effect of methionine sulfoximine on methylation of guanine residues in astroglial transfer ribonucleic acids

Culture-grown astrocytes derived from 3-day-old rat brain were incubated in the presence of [³H]guanosine and of the convulsant agentl-methionine-dl-sulfoximine (MSO). The resulting [³H]tRNA was purified from control and MSO-exposed cells at several time points during the incubation and was hydrolyzed to [³H]guanine and four [³H]methyl guanines which were separated by high pressure liquid chromatography. Three of the four [³H]methyl guanines were more highly labeled in the [³H]tRNA of the MSO-exposed cells, relative to that of the control cells throughout the entire incubation period. The findings extend to cultured astrocytes, the stimulatory effect of MSO on the methylation of neural tRNA guanines, previouly observed both in vitro using [¹⁴C]S-adenosyl-l-methionine and in vivo using [methyl ³-H]l-methionine.     

tRNA methylases from HeLa cells: purification and properties of an adenine-1-methylase and a guanine-N2-methylase

Two enzymes (methylases) that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from S-adenosyl-l-methionine to tRNA (prepared from Escherichia coli) have been partially purified from extracts of HeLa cells. One catalyzes the methylation of adenine residues of the tRNA to give 1-methyladenine units and the other is responsible for the conversion of guanine residues to N²-methylguanine and N²,N²-dimethylguanine (and may be a mixture of two enzymes). Activities of these relatively unstable enzymes could be maintained by storage at ?20 °C in the presence of 50% glycerol. Substrate specificity studies have revealed that bacterial tRNA (E. coli, Bacillus subtilis) can be used as substrate, whereas tRNA of animal origin (HeLa cells, rat liver) cannot be used. Of the specific tRNA's tested, E. coli tRNA^fMet was used as substrate by both enzymes. E. coli tRNA^Tyr was used by the adenine-1-methylase but not by the guanine-N²-methylase. The adenine-1-methylase catalyzed the transfer of approximately one methyl group per mole of either tRNA^fMet or tRNA^Tyr offered as substrate; in the presence of the guanine-N²-methylase 1 mole of E. coli tRNA^fMet accepted 1 mole of methyl. Studies with the use of both enzymes established that enzymic methylation of the guanine site of E. coli tRNA^fMet did not interfere with subsequent methylation of an adenine residue and neither did prior methylation of adenine interfere with the subsequent methylation of a guanine residue. In the presence of both enzymes, approximately 2 moles of methyl groups were accepted by 1 mole of the E. coli tRNA^fMet.     

Methylation du tRNA dans des cultures de gonades de Carcinus maenas: Inhibition par un extrait purifie des glandes androgenes

Subcultures of ovaries and testis of the crab Carcinus maenas have been performed in the presence of L-[Me-¹⁴C]methionine. Introduction in the medium of a chromatographically-purified liposoluble fraction from the androgenic glands of the same animal inhibits the biological methylation of the tRNA of the ovaries by 62%. The inhibition of methylation of five individual bases varies from 45% to 84%. No inhibition of tRNA methylation is observed under the same conditions with testis subcultures.     

Phosphatidylcholine Synthesis in Castor Bean Endosperm : Occurrence of an S-Adenosyl-l-Methionine:Ethanolamine N-Methyltransferase

The methylation steps in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine by castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) endosperm have been studied by pulse-chase labeling. Endosperm halves were incubated with [methyl-¹⁴C]S-adenosyl-l-methionine, [2-¹⁴C]ethanolamine, [¹⁴C]ethanolamine phosphate, or [¹⁴C]serine phosphate. The kinetics of appearance were followed in the free, phospho-, and phosphatidyl-bases. The initial methylation utilized ethanolamine as a substrate to form methylethanolamine, which was then converted to dimethylethanolamine, choline, and phosphomethylethanolamine. Subsequent methylations occurred at the phospho-base and, to a lesser extent, the phosphatidyl-base levels, after which the radioactivity either remained constant or decreased in these compounds and accumulated in phosphatidylcholine. Although the precursors tested did support the synthesis of choline, the kinetics of the labeling make them unlikely to be the major sources of free choline to be utilized for the nucleotide pathway. A model with two pools of choline is proposed, and the implications of these results for the pathways leading to phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis are discussed.     

The pattern of methylation of RNA in peripheral nerve of the chick during development

The pattern of the methylation of RNA was investigated in organ cultures of the sciatic nerve of the chicken. Nerve tissue from 14-day embryos, 17-day embryos and 3-day- old chicks was incubated with [methyl-³H]methionine or with [2-¹⁴C]uridine and [methyl-³H]methionine simultaneously for various periods of time. Subsequently, RNA was extracted from the tissues and the purified preparations were fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The electrophoretic patterns of the rapidly labelled RNA changed during the three developmental stages. The incorporation of both uridine and the methyl groups from methionine was highest in the‘heavy’RNA species of the 14-day embryonic nerve during the 0.5 and 1.0 h incubation periods. In contrast, in the nerves of 3-day-old chicks during a 0.5 h pulse with both precursors, methylation was almost entirely limited to the transfer RNA species. Furthermore, the incorporation of uridine in the nerves from 3-day-old animals revealed the presence of a heterogeneous population of rapidlylabelled, unmethylated species of RNA, most of which migrated between the smaller ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA components of the bulk RNA. The pattern of uridine incorporation and the methylation of the rapidly-labelled RNA of the 17-day embryonic nerve represented a transitional state between that of the 14-day embryos and that of the 3-day-old chicks. The 17-day embryonic stage of development corresponded to the phase of the onset of rapid deposition of myelin lipids in the sciatic nerve. Pulse-chase experiments on the embryonic nerves indicated that a number of methylated precursors of ribosomal RNA and labile, heterogeneous, probably DNA-like RNA were synthesized.     

Biosynthesis of methyl branched hydrocarbons of the German cockroach Blattella germanica (L.) (orthoptera,blattellidae)

The precursors and directionality of synthesis of the methyl branched cuticular hydrocarbons and the female contact sex pheromone, 3,11-dimethyl-2-nonacosanone, of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, were investigated by radiotracer and carbon-13 NMR techniques. The amino acids [G-³H]valine, [4,5-³H]isoleucine and [3,4-¹⁴C₂]methionine labeled the hydrocarbon fraction in a manner indicating that the carbon skeletons of all three amino acids serve as the methyl branch group donor. The incorporation of [1,4-¹⁴C₂]- and [2,3-¹⁴C₂]succinates into the hydrocarbon and acylglycerol/polar lipid fractions indicated that succinate also served as a precursor to methylmalonyl-CoA. Carbon-13 NMR analyses showed that [1-¹³C]propionate labeled the carbon adjacent to the tertiary carbon, and, for the 3,x-dimethylalkanes, that carbon-4 and not carbon-2 was enriched. [1-¹³C]Acetate labeled carbon-2 of these hydrocarbons. This indicates that the methyl branching groups of the 3,x-dimethylalkanes were inserted early in the chain elongation process. [3,4,5-¹³C₃]Valine labeled the methyl, tertiary and carbon adjacent to the tertiary carbon of the methyl branched alkanes. Thus, the methyl branched hydrocarbon was formed by the insertion of methylmalonyl units derived from propionate, isoleucine, valine, methionine and succinate early in chain elongation.     

Methylation of elongation factor 1α in mouse 3T3B and 3T3BSV40 cells

Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic (NEPHGE) analysis of proteins from mouse 3T3B and 3T3B/SV40 cells labelled with [methyl-³H]methionine in the presence of cycloheximide have revealed that the elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) in these cells is methylated and that the extent of methylation is higher in the SV40 transformed cell type. It is suggested that methylation may account for differences in growth properties for the different cell types.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavine by a purine-requiring mutant strain of Escherichia coli

1. Riboflavine biosynthesis occurs in non-proliferating cultures of a purine-requiring strain of Escherichia coli (ATCC no. 13863). 2. No significant incorporation of radioactivity from [1-¹⁴C]glycine into either C-4a and C-9a of riboflavine or into nucleic acid purines is detected under the above conditions; appreciable incorporation of label into 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide occurs. However, the label of [6-¹⁴C]guanine is incorporated significantly into C-4 of riboflavine and into nucleic acid adenine and guanine; the specific radioactivity of the riboflavine is approximately twice that of either adenine or guanine of nucleic acid. 3. These results show that a purine derivative is an obligatory intermediate in riboflavine biogenesis.     

Identification of the persistently bound form of the carcinogen N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene to rat liver DNA in vivo

In this article the structural analysis of the persistently bound form of the carcinogen N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene (AAF) to rat liver DNA in vivo is described. This compound appears to result from the formation of a covalent bond between carbon-3 of the aromatic ring and the amino group of guanine. Experimental evidence from three different approaches has led to the identification of the structure of the persistently DNA-bound AAF moity. First, [3-³H, 9-¹⁴C]N-acetoxy-AAF was reacted with DNA in vitro. As reported previously, a minor product was isolated from enzymatic digests of the reacted DNA, which had chemical and chromatographic properties identical to those of the persistent—AAF moiety in DNA in vivo. The ration ³H/¹⁴C of this product had diminished to the same extent as 3-CH₃S-AAF resulting from the reaction of methionine with [3-³H, 9-¹⁴C]N-acetoxy-AAF.Secondly, reaction of [9-¹⁴C]N-acetoxy-AAF with DNA, which was tritiated in the C-8 positions of the purines, did not result in removal of tritium in the persistent fraction obtained after acid hydrolysis, thus excluding substitution at C-8 and N-7 of guanine. Finally, by reacting N-OSO₃-K-AAF with deoxyguanosine in dimethylsulfoxide-triethylamine, a compound could be isolated, which was identified as 3-(deoxyguanosin-N²-yl)-AAF based on its NMR spectrum and on the mass spectrum of the corresponding guanine derivative obtained after removing deoxyribose by acid hydrolysis. This compound appeared to be identical with the persistently bound form present in DNA hydrolysates from rat liver after injection of [2′-³H]N-hydroxy-AAF.